


Crystals

by StarryFiction



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe, Asthma, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Body Horror, Child Death, Crossover, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grimdark, Herb has wings lol, Infection, Lazy Mornings, M/M, Sad, Sad Ending, Sex Jokes, Slice of Life, these tags are fucking terrible holy shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29760819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryFiction/pseuds/StarryFiction
Summary: A family of three face some... concerns, regarding the previous night’s weather.Set in my Cookie Run x MLP au but that’s not very important to the story
Relationships: Fire Spirit Cookie/Herb Cookie (Cookie Run)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	Crystals

Warnings: Blood, body horror

Pressed together, a warm embrace, two souls in a light sleep. The slow sunrise and the controlled blaze of fire were the only lights filling the room at the time, as the clock slowly struck closer to its time to chime, and the two sleeping lovers were soon to awake. The smell of plants filled the bedroom much like it did the rest of the house, however it wasn't from inside. The window was only the slightest crack open, allowing the smell of flora and certain fauna alike to enter, but no beings themselves. 

Two sleeping pets were on their own pet beds on the floor, a bird, and a sentient teapot. Both slept as soundly as their owners, not a stir in the almost pitch dark room. After a moment, the sunshine finally peeked over the horizon and through the window, shining down onto the phoenix. The flaming bird opened its eyes and winced at the light, covering itself with its wing. It moved over and onto its companion's bed, nuzzling against the still unconscious friend. It got comfortable, and tried to return back to sleep…

BUZZ! BUZZ!

The alarm started loudly going off, bringing both pets to rise. The lighter sleeper of the two cookies on the bed groggily woke up, giving a slight groan at the noise. Fire Spirit reached his hand over and smacked the clock, the noise stopping, and he turned back over. The still tired god pulled his counterpart closer to him, trying to feel the comfort he felt before the alarm went off.

Herb shifted slightly in his arms, opening his eyes slightly. "I heard the alarm, dear…" He said tiredly, only feeling Fire pull him a bit closer.

"No you didn't, go back to sleep…" The taller said, shifting only slightly. 

Herb paused for a second, yawning. "Mochi is probably awake, you know…" The god didn't respond, and the gardener felt the slightest pity for his still exhausted lover. Fire did have a long day yesterday. "Will you be up in time to see her off to school..?" 

"Yeah…" He got a flat reply, and Herb sighed. He pulled himself out of the other's cuddle, hearing a pout, but sitting up. He grabbed his t-shirt, one he'd oh so gracefully discarded the night before, and pulled it on while standing up. He heard the rustle of Fire adjusting to the lack of his presence and he turned around, feeling slightly bad that he couldn't stay there with him for longer. Herb did the least he could do by putting the blankets back how they were.

Herb walked over to the door and felt his pet float over and place itself on his shoulder. The Herbal Teapot gave a little chirp of enthusiasm, and the gardener smiled, looking over his shoulder and checking on the other pet. Magmabird had the same attitude as its owner- don't get up until it needs to. He let out a small chuckle, before stepping out of the bedroom, leaving the light off. 

When he walked out, the first thing he saw was his daughter. Mochi was crouched down and putting her school items into her backpack, not noticing her father. "All dressed and ready already, sweetie?" Mochi perked up and looked over her shoulder when Herb addressed her. 

The little girl gave a small nod. "Mmhmm… I always wake up before you and dad…" She said quietly. Mochi was always very quiet and sensitive, she was like that ever since Herb had officially adopted her. He supposed she really fit the life he helped her into- a quiet life in the woods, her worries mostly on trivial things or her schooling. 

Herb glanced at the clock. "There's still fifteen minutes until you need to go, did you make yourself breakfast?" 

Mochi dropped her pencil case into her backpack and zipped it up, putting it down and standing up. "No…" 

“Well, come on sweetie, let’s make you some breakfast while your dad wakes up.” The little girl smiled and turned over the doorway into the kitchen before her father could. Herb smiled, looking to his side. Just as he’d hoped, his precious fern was right on the table where he’d left it. He grabbed it and tucked it to himself, immediately feeling a bit more comfortable, before going after his daughter.

He walked into the kitchen and found Mochi at the table already, swinging her legs back and forth. Her own pet, the Strawberry Gelatin, had floated up into her lap and was muzzling the little girl gently. Herb’s own pet left his side to join the other pet, and the two sat together on Mochi’s lap while she waited patiently. Herb smiled at his daughter, before turning and opening the freezer, pulling out a plastic bag of frozen waffles.  
“Will dad be awake in time to say goodbye..?” A sudden question, which made Herb pause for a second.

The gardener stared distantly for a moment, before realizing what she meant. “Yes sweetie, your dad will be awake to see you off to school.” He answered quickly, attempting to make up for the time he spent pondering what she said. He saw her smile slightly, and got curious, “Why wouldn’t he be?” He asked her, putting two waffles for his daughter in the toaster.

“Well…” Mochi started timidly, picking up her pet into her arms. She stroked its jelly lightly, the sentient gelatin purring, and the other pet wandering off to find its own food. The girl was silent for a while, seeming to be balancing her words in her head. “Dad was home late yesterday, after we were already asleep… I heard him come home while I was trying to sleep…” She looked shyly away from her dad, “I figured he’d sleep in today because he was up late yesterday…

Herb paused for a second, having several things to say, before relaxing. “Sweetie, your dad is a performer, remember? He just got stuck in the clouds after a performance while waiting for the rain to stop.” He reassured his daughter as best he could. But really, he didn’t actually know the reason as to why Fire was late, only assuming it was because of the heavy thunderstorm.

“I know pa, but…” The little girl stopped again, before looking at her father. “I don’t think it was just rain…”

“What makes you think that, Mochi?” 

“I mean… it was just too heavy-!” She seemed to crack a little, “It fell too heavily, it was too loud… I didn’t like it.” She mumbled the last part quietly, but her dad still heard it. Herb admitted to himself that the rain did seem very heavy the previous night, but wasn’t sure if he should tell his worried child that. “And… dad came home in the middle of it… wouldn’t he have waited till it stopped..?” 

The gardener bit his lip. His daughter was far more observant than he had realized, probably something she learnt from her old life at the Frostbite Lodge. “He… probably had one of his colleagues with him, sweetie.” He pulled the waffles out of the toaster and put them on a plate, looking over his shoulder at Mochi. “Your dad knows how to manage himself, Mochi, there’s nothing to worry about.” Mochi went quiet, seeming to have nothing else to say about it. Herb finished preparing the waffles and brought the plate to his daughter, seeing her small smile return with them as she put her pet down. Herb turned around to make himself breakfast, seeing the pets start play-fighting from the corner of his eye as Mochi started eating. She seemed… rushed. She still had a good seven minutes till she had to go, and he could tell that it wasn’t school she was worried about. Whatever was bothering her, he knew better than to ask her about it if she didn’t want to tell him. He just grabbed the frozen produce from the freezer and started getting ready to blend a fresh smoothie. 

Mochi watched her dad grab his things, before turning to look at her waffles. She couldn’t focus on eating, but she tried to eat quickly. Just for the sake of not getting so distracted that she didn’t finish them in time to leave for school. Her thoughts were preoccupied by her own concerns. As much as her dad told her it was a normal rainstorm, maybe a bit heavy, she didn’t believe a word of it. It was too heavy. It banged against the roof of the house instead of tapping lightly, the noise and Mochi’s fright combined were enough to keep her awake until she was too tired to keep her eyes open. Maybe she was just overthinking, but she was convinced in her own mind that it was something more than just rain. A hailstorm was impossible, it wasn’t cold. Her thoughts raced over and over in her head, and she knew she’d have to get her focus back before it was time for school.

As she absently finished her waffles, she hadn’t realized Herb had finished getting ingredients ready. “AH-!” She shrieked as the sudden noise of the blender shot her back to reality, jumping in her seat. She jumped so hard in shock that she fell back in her seat, falling to the floor with a bang. 

Herb turned around at the sounds of her screaming and the chair colliding with the floor. “Are you alright-?” 

Mochi groaned as she moved her legs off of the now laid down chair, sitting up. “Ugh… yeah…” The Strawberry Gelatin bounced over, hopping into its owner’s lap. She stroked it gently, sighing. 

“What happened?” 

“I got scared by the blender…” She said wimpily, and Herb sighed lightly.

“I’m sorry for scaring you, sweetie. Pick yourself back up and put your plate in the sink, will you?” He asked, turning back to the still running blender, and Mochi nodded. She got up, picking up her pet with her, and picked the chair up to put it back where it was. 

She was reaching for her plate when she saw a familiar phoenix fly into the room, landing on the table in front of her. Magmabird seemed tired, but Strawberry Gelatin still hopped out of Mochi’s arms to play with them. “Good morning dad.” She said as Fire Spirit hovered into the room. 

Fire rubbed his eyes, yawning, and it was clear to his family that he had just woken up. “I woke up to the blender and then shrieking, what happened?” He said, moving his hands to cover his ears. He hated the sound of the blender.

“Mochi got scared and fell out of her seat when I started the blender.” Herb explained, the aforementioned little girl finally walking over and putting her plate in the sink. 

Fire floated up behind her and ruffled her hair, getting only a mild reaction. “Be more careful sweet, we don’t want you getting hurt.” He said tiredly, and she turned around and nodded up at him. He glanced over at the clock, trying to gauge how long he had slept in. “You leave in three minutes, go get your stuff ready.” 

Mochi gasped. “I do-!” She squeaked, before running out of the room. Both of her fathers could hear her grab her backpack before going to check her room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

Fire took the opportunity to float behind Herb, wrapping his arms around the shorter man just as he turned the blender off. “Take your time getting up, dear?” He asked jokingly, feeling his partner rest his head in his hair.

“Mmm… yeah.” He said tiredly, and Herb chuckled. Then the shorter man took the container off of the blender blade, looking up at the cabinet above him. The gardener sighed a little, knowing just what Fire was about to say. “Need some help reaching the cups?” Yup. 

“I’ve got wings, I can do it myself.” He sighed, unwilling to let his partner tease him for being short. 

“You do, but you can't use them when I’ve got my arms around your back.” Fire said slyly, and Herb frowned. 

Then, he smiled. “Fine… dear, can you get the cup down for me?” He said, putting on a sarcastic happy tone. 

The god grinned. “I certainly can.” He said, taking his arms off of his shorter counterpart to reach for the cabinet.

“Gotcha!” Once his wings were unblocked, Herb’s fairy wings buzzed as he floated up to open the cabinet and get a cup himself. “I wasn’t just gonna let you win, dear.” He smiled, resting himself and putting the cup on the counter. 

“Actually, I think I still pretty much won with the view I got.” Fire said slyly, and his partner was confused as he got down from the table.

Then, Herb flustered. "Cheeky this morning, hm?" He asked sarcastically, wrapping his arms back around Herb. 

"Mmhm." Fire hummed with satisfaction, resting himself down again.

The shorter poured some of the smoothie into the cup, putting the container on the counter. "Not while Mochi's home, dear." He said shortly, glancing at the clock. "Speaking of which, Mochi! Are you ready for school?" He yelled to her, hearing her bedroom door open. Fire sighed, before letting go of Herb, and heading for the main room.

Mochi had her backpack on and Strawberry Gelatin neatly sat on it, she was ready for the day. But she still had a slight worry in her eyes as she went for the front door. "Goodbye dads…" She said, and hugged Herb as he approached.

"Goodbye, sweetie." He pat her head lightly and she let him go, before turning around and jumping into the arms of her other father. 

Fire grunted a little from the sudden weight in his arms, but hugged his daughter back anyway. "I'll see ya later, Moch'." 

Mochi dropped to the floor and headed for the door again. She seemed to be rushing as the time for the bus to arrive was coming closer quickly. "Goodbye dads-! I love you two…" 

"We love you too Mochi, have fun at school." Herb got a nod back as Mochi opened the door. "You'll watch over her, right Gelatin?" He asked her pet, and Strawberry Gelatin squeaked in affirmation. "Alright, goodbye again you two." Finally, Mochi carefully stepped out the door, shutting it behind her as she started to head down the path to the road.

Herb smiled as she left, crossing his arms. "Gah!" He yelped as Fire swooped over suddenly and lifted him into his arms, carrying the smaller man in bridal style. 

"So, about that 'not while Mochi's home' statement~" The taller one said, leaning closer to his lover.

"Hmph!" Herb hummed, looking over at the clock. "Don't you have somewhere to go soon too?" 

“Aaaactually,” The god exaggerated, “Because we were held up late last night, I don’t have to go in till noon.” Fire smirked, knowing he’d won that conversation. 

Herb rolled his eyes, before carefully dropping himself from his lover’s arms. “What happened, anyways? Did the rain make everyone stop practicing for the night?” 

The other’s expression flattened a little. “If it was just rain, only I’d have to stop. No, everyone had to stop, it seemed to damage everyone once it started hitting us.” 

Herb raised his eyebrow. He had about a million questions. “If it wasn’t just rain, what was it?” 

“I don’t think it was rain at all. We were flying ABOVE the clouds.” Fire tapped a hand to his cheek, “And, whatever was falling wasn’t a liquid. It was raining crystals.” 

“Crystals?” Herb got an answering nod, “That’s… not only geologically impossible, but also meteorologically impossible. How could it rain rocks?” 

“Not rocks, crystals. Gems, even!” Fire crossed his arms, recalling the previous night. “Whatever it was, it hurt when it hit any of us. For a minute, we thought it could’ve been ice, but it didn’t melt when Sea Fairy caught it.” 

“It hurt? Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, we were all fine. We got inside, and then waited for it to slow down till we could all go home.” The god grabbed the sleeve of his robe and pulled it up, revealing bandages around his arm. “Wind bandaged us all up, and we examined the crystals for a bit. None of us could figure out what it was.” 

Herb was silent for a second, before walking over and sitting on the couch. He motioned for his love to join him, and he did. “Can you take the bandages off? I want to see the wound.” He asked, holding Fire’s wrist.

The taller glanced away, but nodded, and then slowly started stripping the bandages off. He didn’t quite mind- hell, the sound of bandages and tape ripping was one of his favorites. The reason he glanced away was wondering how his lover would feel seeing the wounds, and also how he himself would feel seeing them again. He winced a little as he got to the bottom layer of bandages, and Herb raised an eyebrow. “Why did you need so many..?” 

“They bled a bit more than any of us were comfortable with. Make that a lot more, actually.” Seeing the concerned look in Herb’s eyes, Fire shrugged. “We’re all immortals, blood loss can’t do shit.” 

“It can make you a bit woozy, that’s for sure…” Herb looked back down at his lover’s arms as the last bandage was removed, and he jumped at the sight. “...Oh.” Was all he could say.

Cookie blood was pink. Every cookie, no matter what type, bled pink jam, immortal or not. But the blood that was already starting to seep out of Fire Spirit’s arm again stood out a bit more on his red flesh than pink did. No, the blood where the crystals hit him last night weren’t pink, not at all. They were multicolored. Green, cyan, purple, yellow, if there was a color, it was bubbling out of the god’s arm now. Herb made the natural assumption that the colors of the wounds all matched the color of the gem that went in, but… 

“How is this possible..? If the crystals were taken out, your blood would be back to normal by now.” His eyebrows furrowed as he looked away from the other’s pierced arm to meet his face. “Are you sure every crystal was removed last night?”

“Every crystal was solid when Wind took them out. There might’ve been residue, but even I’m smart enough to know that also would’ve been gone by now.” 

Neither of the men could figure out why the colorful blood still stuck, except for the option that Herb hoped wouldn’t be right. “...We should call the hospital. If not to get you checked, to see if they got anyone else who’s like… this, after last night.” The gardener said, letting go of his partner's wrist and standing up. The god stayed seated and started reapplying his bandages, while the other dialed the hospital.

“Hello, this is the Happy Healthy Hospital, who is this?” A woman’s voice came from the other side. 

“Hello, this is Herb Cookie, I was in a few weeks ago for my daughter’s asthma.” 

The flat and professional conversation continued. “Ah, yes, you’re in our records. Has there been an accident with your daughter?”

“No, she’s at school right now. But, it’s about my lover.” He paused for a second to figure out how to describe the situation. “He was hurt in the crystal rain last night and his blood is multicolored. Have you gotten any other call-in’s about this?” 

“Yes, we have.” Herb sighed in relief. “It’s nothing to come in for. We’ve gotten calls about it and examined the wounds and it’s just seemingly residue. Bandage any wounds and blood will be back to normal soon.”

“...Alright, thank you.” He put the phone down, “Well, that didn’t really explain why it’s happening.” 

“The nurse said it’s just residue, sweetheart.” Fire said, shrugging as he finished bandaging his hand. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” 

Herb looked out the window thoughtfully. “Mmm… I’d hate for it to start raining again, I wouldn’t want Mochi to get hurt while she’s at school.” 

The two men were left with nothing beyond that except their silent concerns for each other, themselves, and their daughter.

~~~~~~

The school bell rang, and the elementary schoolers mixed with some high schoolers all stuffed their books back into their backpacks. With the exception of one, very distracted, little girl.

Mochi had barely realized the bell had rang when she saw everyone else packing up. She looked down at her schoolwork, a page about mammals, and sighed in relief that she had even finished it. She put on her backpack and Strawberry Gelatin squeaked, excited. Because Mochi had trouble breathing and couldn’t play with the other kids, it meant she had time to play with her pet. She followed the stream of other fifth graders, at a slower pace as to manage her breathing, to recess. No familiar faces caught her eye as she walked with them, her head hung low. She was too distracted to feel the need to talk to anyone.

As they got outside, Mochi promptly took a seat against the wall. Her pet floated in front of her and into her arms, and she held it gently. It squeaked a few words to her, some only she could understand, and she sighed. “I know, I should be paying attention… but, it’s just… weird. Why would it rain so heavily..? How could dad come home in the middle of it?” Strawberry Gelatin squeaked at her again. “I know it might be nothing but… it’s still weird…” 

“Heya!” 

“GAH!” Mochi shrieked as a familiar yet raspy voice spoke to her. She fell to her side onto the dirt and tensed, groaning. She really didn’t have good luck when it came to staying seated that day. 

“You alright?” She finally looked up at the one addressing her and recognized him as her young relative on her fire dad’s side. She took his outstretched hand and sat up, shaking a bit of dirt out of her hair. 

“Yeah, I’m fine Dinosour…” She returned to her curled up sit and Dino sat next to her. That’s when she looked down and saw bandages around his arm...s. “What are those..?” She asked, before examining him further. Most of his arms or exposed skin had bandages or bandaids, even one on the bridge of his nose.

“Oh, they’re just bandaids and bandages.” He said, starting to pick at one on impulse. “I was out in the forest last night trying to find my way home when it started raining these… jagged crystals. I had to go to the local barn where Birthday Cake lives so that her sister could patch me up in the middle of the night.” He shrugged.

Mochi’s eyes widened. She knew the rain last night wasn’t normal. “Wait, it was raining crystals last night?” 

“Yeah! It was crazy!” Dino put a finger on his cheek, glancing away. “Spinach called the hospital about my wounds this morning, and from what I heard a lot of people got hurt just like I did.” 

Mochi pondered that for a second. Was that why her dad came home so late? Was he okay? She felt… scared of the concept of crystal rain, but she couldn’t place why. “Hmm…” She gasped, “-! That reminds me of a book I read..!”

“Huh?” 

“In the first part of the book, it rained sharp gems that… that pierced people’s skin… and made their blood all colorful… and then, those people who were hurt would turn into these crystal monsters…” She explained, waving her hands around as though diagramming what she said.

Dino raised an eyebrow. “Why have you been reading something like- oh wait, you have the highest reading level of your class.” He stopped just as he’d begun, and Mochi tensed up a bit.

“It was a good book… but isn’t it weird that it’s raining crystals now too..? And it's also hurting everyone..?” She asked, and Dino shrugged.

“It’s just a coincidence. The god cookies can probably figure out what's going on!” He said with a bit too much enthusiasm, and she sighed.

“I sure hope so… and I hope dad’s okay…” 

The school bell rang out to all the cookies in the playground. “Oh, that’s next class! Goodbye Mochi!” Dino hopped up and waved, not even seeing the tiny wave he got back before running off.

“Bye Dino…” She whispered, standing up. She looked at her pet and it looked at her, a mutual thought between them. They hoped the crystal rain wouldn’t happen again. 

~~~~~~

Wet, muddy footsteps. 

That was the only sound for miles.  
The ground was soaking wet and mushy, a disgusting mud that squished as the cookie running across it ran as fast as she could. 

Mochi’s cape flowed behind her, as did tears from her eyes. How long had she been crying for, she didn’t know, but it was too long. Her eyes stung from salty tears and her legs ached, the pet in her arms trembling. But she felt she needed to continue running. She might’ve not heard any other footsteps, but one of those… things, could be chasing her. 

It’d all started when every young cookie was in the courtyard waiting to be picked up. Multiple miscellaneous children and teenagers had bandages on their exposed body from the crystal rain, and Mochi just felt glad she wasn’t one of them. That’s when… it started.  
Some of the kids who had bandages started… shrieking. Shrill, high voices, all rang through the air. They all were screaming in pain, making any noise they could make to cry out. The teachers were struck in shock, and other kids and teenagers all started backing away. Through all of the kids, Mochi could discern Dinosour from the crowd. And that meant she had to see each gruesome detail of the crystalling happen to her own relative. 

The bandages on him where the crystal pierced him burst apart, profusely bleeding colors everywhere. He screamed, cried, at the top of his lungs, as the crystal shards pierced out of his skin. Mochi felt like vomiting at the sight, but she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t move. She could only watch as Dino shrieked in agony, as crystals burst from his skin from where there wasn’t even any bandaging. The dragon wings on his back shriveled but glowed, only making the teenager possessing them cry out in more agony as his scales turned to shards. Him, and every other infected child there were soon indiscernible messes of colorful blood and crystals. All of them screamed in agony, piercing everyone’s ears just the same as the crystals pierced those poor kids' skin. 

Mochi was consumed by terror. Not a sound would come out of her, nor a movement. That’s when the first schooler fully crystallized, and only more screams erupted. Mochi could barely turn her head to see it, but when she did, she saw a monster. Something that once was just a child wanting to go home that was now a monster made of crystal and gem both. The other child they- no, it- aimed at, was frozen in shock. The kid, one Mochi remembered the name of being Grapefruit, couldn’t even run before crystals were shot through her by the monster. Only more and more screams rang out as children and teenagers started getting murdered by shining crystals. The sight would’ve been beautiful from the glimmering gemstones, but it was a massacre. 

And Mochi finally felt her pet tugging at her cape. 

Reality set in for her,  
As she turned around,  
And ran.

And that took her to now. 

Mochi was running as fast as she could, before suddenly, she stopped and dropped to her knees into the mud. She gripped her shirt around her chest with force as she tried to breath, the effects of running for so long finally setting in. “I- can’t- run- any- longer-!” She said as she tried to breathe, her thick tears and saliva filled mouth only making it harder on her. Mochi coughed violently, trying desperately to breathe through her own spit, but ultimately choking. Strawberry Gelatin floated in front of her and started ramming in her stomach, trying to help its owner the best it could.

After she finished coughing, her pet went behind her to her backpack. It came back around with her rescue inhaler, which she took. She could barely get her shaking hands to hit the button as she took a struggling inhale of her medicine, finally starting to breathe as the medication kicked in quickly. 

She moved to her knees, mud covering her legs, and she tried to steady herself. Her tears never stopped falling down thick and globby, as she took in her situation at last. As long as she wasn’t in immediate danger, she felt she could have just that moment at least. 

She sobbed, before falling forward and holding herself up by her arms. Strawberry Gelatin thought she would start coughing again, but was surprised when Mochi screamed.

“I-I WANNA GO HOME!”  
Were the only words she could call out.

**Author's Note:**

> Second chapter? Maybe? who knows if this doesn’t flop maybe there’ll be chapter two


End file.
